Sunday, December 28, 2008

I LOVE these videos, and would watch more Les Mis, but that my internet can only take so much youtube before dying on me. So...enjoy these two, and if you have good internet, find the other ones related to these. I'm sure they rock too.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

First of all, anyone who has not seen the Princess Bride MUST MUST MUST go out and see it before reading this review. I do not want to spoil such an awesome movie. And yes, I do mean anyone. I recommend this movie to any and all.

Now, onward.

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True to my word, I did watch Princess Bride yesterday, and it made me so happy. I seriously think that if I ever had to choose one SINGLE movie as my favorite, PB would be it. It has everything: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

(by the way, that's actually the corresponding quote from the book. I'm making this a joint review)

The Princess Bride is probably the only example of a movie I know of in which I am completely happy with the transition from book to movie. Granted, I did see the movie first, but after reading the book, I didn't get one of those, "How in the world could they have changed such-and-such?" feelings after reading it.

In fact, let me tell you story about me and the book. You know how in the movie, the Grandfather is reading the story to his grandson while the kid is sick? Well, they have that in the book except that the author William Goldman made it so that he himself was the grandson listening to his grandfather read this 'book' by 'S. Morgenstern.' There were other parts of the modern part of the story that made references to Florin and Guilder and all those different things actually existing.

I believed it! I wanted to go to Florin to see the Fire Swamp and Cliffs of Insanity and the Princess Bride museum. I wanted to go to the Morgenstern library. Months later, I looked up the book on wikipedia for some reason, and I went into shock. It revealed to me that the whole part about the grandson and Florin being a real country was all just a plot device. That's it. There was no Morgenstern, no grandfather, no Florin. I almost literally broke down because it was so heart breaking. Thankfully, it didn't scar me for life. It just made me really really annoyed for about a month.

But anyway. I really enjoyed watching the movie again because I was able to catch details I hadn't caught the first ten times seeing that movie. One thing I focused on this time through was what each character's obsession/first love/main mission was. Every single main character had one.

Westley's obession is, of course, Buttercup. In the beginning, all he wants to do is SHOW her how much he loves her. Instead of just saying, "I love you," he shows his love. Buttercup asked him to fetch a pitcher that must have only been twelve inches away from her. His actions speak louder than words as he walks over to her and gives her the pot, whispering, "As you wish." Though he was captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts and eventually became Dread Pirate Roberts, he never lost sight of his goal: to get Buttercup back which he does at the end.

Inigo's main mission is to avenge his father and kill the Six Fingered Man. The book talks about how Inigo had always imagined how it would play out with pleas, bribe attempts, and all sorts of other fun, but then decided to go for the simplest thing: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." This is an obsession. He spent about twenty years just training with the sword and strengthening himself. He's so good he even fights extremely well left handedly.

I could go on and on and on with character analysis, but this review is getting a tad long. I'd like to hear from y'all. What is your favorite moment from the book or movie? And what do you think a character's obsession is?

Friday, December 19, 2008

I honestly didn't have any idea what to write about my blog, but then Mom suggested I review a movie I saw recently that I....didn't exactly like. More like disliked intensely.This will be a first, considering most of the reviews I post on my blog are positive, so bear with me.Lady JaneTo clarify....I only wanted to see this movie because it had Cary Elwes in it. (yeah, yeah, you can call me a Princess Bride freak if it makes you happy) It also had Helena Bonham Carter, who I consider to be a fine actress. Not one of my favorites, mind you, but a good actress nonetheless. Things got even better when I found out Patrick Stewart was in the movie too. (again, call me a mindless Star Trek: TNG geek)(by the way, this is a ranting review, so if you actually want to see this movie without knowing spoilers, skip this review)

Jady Lane in a nutshell:Henry VII dies. Edward his son is king.Jane (HBC) likes Edward, but Lord Whats-His-Ears convinces Jane's mom to have her marry HIS son because Edward is dying.Jane and Guilford (CE) marry. At first they establish this is a marriage of convenience, but then, (who would have seen this coming? *heavy sarcasm*) they actually fall in love!Edward dies and leaves a will saying Jane is queen instead of his sister Mary.Jane is reluctantly made queen. She and Guilford make reform-ish laws. (for the good of the people, darling!! sorry, I'm in a very obnoxious mood right now)Mary doesn't want to give up her throne and takes back over.Jane and Guilford are beheaded for treason. (oh, I'm sorry! AFTER someone tried to convert them to Catholicism.)The End....................What the bloody Spanish Inquisition was that??? They're beheaded and that's it?! Ok, yes, it's based on real history, but they could've come up with some other way to make it better. Not lofty eternity Plato quotes to rectify the situation, because the situation was NOT rectified in my opinion. The situation left me feeling mad, pitiful, stupid, annoyed, and more.

So....to rectify the situation on my own, I'm watching the Princess Bride as soon as I can. Because that movie has a REAL romance and a REAL ending. Let's compare the endings of the two, shall we?Lady Jane ending(after they're both beheaded): *swelling music as background to lofty clouds* "The soul takes flight to the world that is invisible. At there arriving, she is assured of bliss, and forever dwells in paradise."

Princess Bride ending:Grandpa: As as they reached for each other....Grandson: What? What?Grandpa: Ah, it's kissing again, you don't want to hear that.Grandson: I don't mind so much.Grandpa: Ah, ok. Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The End.Grandson: Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow.Grandpa: As you wish.

THERE'S an ending.Now if you'll excuse me, I need to clear my system of that movie and watch the Princess Bride.

I LOVE Christina Rossetti's poetry...... Anyway..... As most of you have probably noticed by now, I broke down and got myself a new layout, header, etcetera. You may ask, why a black rose? Well, (A I love roses. Especially dark ones. I used to not think roses are that great, but especially since becoming a (happy!) goth and seeing Phantom of the Opera I've started to love them. (B I wanted to see if I could photo manipulate a red rose into a black rose, and I did. Yay!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

"The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did. Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca. Books, so the snobbish critics said, were dishwater. No wonder books stopped selling, the critics said. but the public, knowing what it wanted, spinning happily, let the comic books survive. And the three-dimensional sex magazines of course. There you have it, Montag. It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals." .... "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it." -Beatty.

I...LOVED this book. But in contrary to popular belief, it's not really about government censorship. As Beatty himself said, it didn't start with the government. It started with people losing an interest in books as a result of A) technology exploited and B) political correctness in regards to minorities.A basic synopsis of the book would be that Guy Montag is an average fireman. Average for the time that is. In the future, homes have been fireproofed, so a fireman no longer puts out fires, but starts them. All books and the homes in which they are found are burned. But in a world where pleasure and 'happiness' are king, there are still people who challenge the norm. Clarisse McClellan is one of those, and she challenges Montag's motivation for burning books. This challenge makes Montag start to question the reason of burning books, and the story goes on.

When I read this book, I was amazed because Ray Bradbury wrote many things that seem to already have started becoming true.

1. "School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored."That's already coming true. I hardly know anyone my age who knows the difference between the usage of who and whom, that snuck is not actually a word, and that being nauseous and nauseated are NOT the same thing.

2. "Organize and organize and superorganize super-super sports."Can anyone else notice the obsession with football in America?? As I've probaby ranted before, I don't see the point of football except this: "All right, we're gonna take the ball, and score a touchdown! Break!!"

There are others I could go into, but I realize this post is getting just a tad long.To close: Unless people start reading and absorbing intelligent books again, I do believe our society will head in this direction.Lord have mercy.

PS Random fact I found: according to wikipedia, I have read four of the books that are commenly challenged in the US. And there are more on there I'm planning to read, such as 1984. Extra points to anyone who can guess the books I've read on the list.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Random stuff going on: 1. I'm excited because my youth group is putting on a mini-concert at a retirement home, which I've volunteered to help out with.

2. Yesterday.....was my birthday. Yep... I am sixteen. I need to get on with Driver's ed...grr...

3. The other day was dig out all assorted Christmas decorations. Our staircase looks lovely, but different. As Mom said, "It has our family written all over it." I also routed Charlie from her nap and made her pose for the camera. She wasn't too thrilled at first...

As I said, our staircase looks CRAZY....

Martin looking crazy with it.

This one's my favorite...

PS I plan to have my review of Fahrenheit 451 up as soon as I gather my thoughts and wits about me.

Monday, December 1, 2008

"We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses, there is at last one which makes the heart run over."

I agree with Dad when he said, "I see why Shyamalan was influenced by Hitchcock...they each take their time to set things up." And they do. For a long while you think the story is about something, but then he switches the focus entirely. And what an ending!

What I found fascinating was Hitchcock's use of the camera for Scottie's sense of vertigo. He was able to make an object in the distance stay still, but all the surroundings seemed to move. I did some research, and found out he did that by zooming in while moving out with the camera. Or the backwards way... I forget.

There is much more I could say about this movie, but I won't because I don't want to give anything away. See this movie! It's a classic, and rightly so.

I conform to non-conformity. I am myself because everyone else is taken. I am a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. I am who I am and say what I feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.